Melting Snow
by Kaara
Summary: Naruto had never thought that winter would bring the worst out of Ino. NaruIno. OneShot.


**Title:** Melting Snow.  
**By:** Kaara.  
**Prompt:** For **NaruIno's LJ community's 2006 NaruIno Xmas Xchange**.  
**Disclaimer:** I don't own Naruto. Kishimoto does, and some other people that I am not attached to.  
**Rating:** PG15.  
**Note:** Um… a weird fanfic, in my opinion. Lots of misplaced comments, odd uses of onomatopoeia and parenthesis. And the usual lack of satisfactory ending. And the story is sort of… fragmented. Don't let it break your brain. I do hope that someone will find this interesting, all things considered. So, read on!

**xxx**

**Melting Snow**

**xxx**

Ino woke up with a feeling of dread pooling at the bottom of her stomach, as well as her ninja sense tingling with something that could only be described as dismay. It had been quite some time since she felt that way, and nothing good ever happened from it. The last time she woke up like this, her favourite rose bush (that she had nurtured and cherished since she was a little girl) had been burnt down by a few careless Academy students practising katon-type jutsu. Ino shivered at the painful memory, and frowned when her dread-muddled mind registered the drastic change of temperature inside the room. Her ninja senses went 'ting-a-ding-ding' at that. Her heart went into a frantic beat of 'da-dum-da', like war drums and we all knew that wars and drums were not a good omen. Mental warning bells tolled and screamed bloody murder inside her head.

It was _that_ season again.

She knew that autumn was coming to an end, but she had hoped that the golden brown season would linger perhaps a week (or two, or three, or four…) more. Of course, she was not a big fan of autumn in the first place, because almost everything that she loved would wither into nothingness during those shortening days. It pained her to see the lush greenness of Konoha slowly replaced by ugly brown and dull golden, and of course, she didn't quite fancy the chilling air when autumn swept into town. It's not good for her complexion. Autumn tended to make her feel depressed and make her want to pack up, move into a tropical country, plant flowers all day and say 'screw you' to Konoha forever and ever and ever. But autumn was not as bad as…

Ino reluctantly untangled herself from her cocoon of (thick, warm) comforter and glanced towards the window.

It was snowing.

It was snowing heavily.

Ino stared at the thick flurry of white that was mercilessly pelting the fogged glass of her window and flopped back onto the mass of (thick, warm) comforter on her bed. And then, she realised that she was only wearing a skimpy night gown and that the heater was not warming the whole room quick enough, so Ino burrowed back into the (thick, warm) embrace of her comforter and bed, where no evil white stuff from the sky was trying to kill her with its unbearable coldness. It wouldn't do her reputation any good to die from pneumonia; such a pansy (and unglamorous) way of dying, compared to being sashimi-ed alive by some missing nin. The sign of an impending mother of all migraine had already started to nudge against her sub-consciousness, because snow always made her a bit agitated and out-of-balance and when she's agitated and out-of-balance, she would get migraines. Painful, painful migraines, like a giant sledgehammer bouncing inside her skull and trying to annihilate her brain in the most gruesome and painful way possible.

She remembered how cruel winter had been to her all these years. There was not a year that passed by without a misfortune lurking underneath the deceptive innocence of winter, waiting for her to go around the corner and then ambush her with worst possible scenarios. Ino wished that she could will the season away, and that she didn't have any training that day. But she did, and oh dear sweet hell, Ibiki's gonna be so pissed if she missed his practical lesson (and God help her because she might be insane when she applied for Torture & Interrogation in the first place, because everyone went (more) insane there). But she didn't want to get up, didn't want to leave her room and face the cruel winter (and Ibiki) cold and alone and unprotected. And she somehow recalled that she was supposed to see a certain hyperactive, spiky-headed blonde that morning.

Ino curled into a foetal position, closed her eyes and whimpered sadly.

She hated snow.

**xxx**

Naruto loved snow.

He knew that something good was going to happen when he woke up that morning, because there was a feeling of comfort pooling at the bottom of his stomach and his ninja sense was tingling in that obscure pleasant way it would whenever the prospect of free ramen was brought up. He was never much of a heavy sleeper (thanks to, among other things, ninjas' tendency to be paranoid), so it was easy for him to feel the change of temperature throughout the night. He didn't stir from his (warm, comfortable) bed though, and waited until morning to fling aside his comforter and jogged giddily towards the window.

It was snowing.

It was snowing heavily.

He loved the sheer _whiteness_ of everything that the snow covered, because if he bothered to be poetical and/or philosophical, he would claim that the snow hid the ugliness of the world underneath its thick layer of crispy innocence. Granted, he was not the type of person that dwell much on anything (except ramen, because ramen was ramen and ramen was above everything else), so Naruto happily discarded any semblance of poetical and/or philosophical thought that might ruin his happiness upon realising that it was snowing. He stood watching (in his worn, pandas-patterned pyjamas) the curtain of fluffy snow knocking gently against the window, and smiled at the sight of the usually-green Konoha quilted in white.

Naruto spent another half-an-hour simply staring at the falling snow, before he gathered enough mental strength to physically drag himself from the window and the spectacular view of winter. There was no hot water in the bathroom (he'd have to talk with that landlord about this, the old bastard) so he ended up using a katon jutsu to warm up enough water for his morning shower. He accidentally scorched the tiles because damn, katon jutsus were a bitch to control, but hey, accidents happened all the time. He stepped out of the bathroom, whistling happily and padded into his small kitchen, intent to start the day with a delicious, steaming bowl of ramen. There was no electricity too when he tried to boil a kettle of water, and Naruto was half-convinced that God was playing some kind of a colossal joke on him and that he was missing the punch-line. He didn't dare risk another katon jutsu because the last time he tried, he ended up with a repair bill larger than his ramen tab (and that's saying something!). So, no ramen for breakfast. Hm.

But it's still okay, it's still okay!

It's winter! Nothing could go wrong in winter!

(Somehow, the mental association of winter and 'nothing-could-go-wrong' was something that should not be discussed or argued in front of Naruto. Ever.)

Naruto literally pounced onto his trunk, the one that housed his (meagre) amount of clothing and started flinging out old shirts and too-small pants in search for the appropriate outfit to celebrate the first day of winter, one of the most sacred days in Naruto's calendar (if he ever managed to acquire one). Several minutes later found him standing in front of the mirror, humming to himself and wrapping a scarf around his neck (orange, of course). It was a present from Iruka-sensei, it was warm and it was hand-knitted. If only Iruka-sensei was a woman, Naruto would totally hit on the teacher. But let's not pursue that trail of thought back there, because it's sort of disturbing at best. Naruto picked at the frayed hem of his winter coat and made a note to buy a bigger and warmer coat for next winter. He checked his reflection one more time, flashed a 'good guy' pose (that didn't have anything to do with Rock Lee or Maito Gai) and bounded towards the door. His cheeks reddened when he thought about a certain young woman living not too far away, whose beauty was as infamous as her nasty temper.

Ino must be waiting for him already, to celebrate the arrival of their first winter together!

(At least, that's what Kakashi-sensei told him about girl-boy relationship. The important aspect of a successful relationship was to celebrate anything at any given opportunity, because girls (for an unknown reason) like celebrating, especially if the boys were paying. Said sensei was currently unattached to any living specimen (except his nin dogs, but they're bribed with dog biscuits so they didn't count), so it was hard to believe anything that he said. But Uzumaki Naruto was willing to take risks, no matter how risky they were!)

**xxx**

You must be wondering why, of all people in Konoha, Naruto ended up with the resident drama queen of Rookie Nine.

If you asked Naruto, he would most probably stare at you, turn red and start sputtering gibberish about fate and destiny (that many suspected he picked up from a certain Hyuuga). And then invite you for some ramen, where you'd find yourself dodging bits of half-masticated noodles whenever Naruto attempted talking and paying the resultant enormous tab.

If you asked Ino, you would most probably receive a scathing comment about keeping your nose (and other part of your anatomy) out of her business, _or else_. (No one dared to ask what 'or else' consist of for fear of mental trauma). And then, she would place a mild genjutsu (that could last up to three weeks) on you if she was in a good mood.

It would take some serious explanation to depict the nature of their relationship.

There were not really friends before the Chuunin Exam (yes, the one where lots of snakes and ninja people were killed and pretty boys were converted into Oro-Cult). They were barely acquaintances when Naruto came back from training with the Legendary Pervert, though Ino did take some time off her training to celebrate his return. Nothing much had changed. Naruto was still loud and orange, and Ino was still bitchy and purple. But Ino had developed a fascination over the blond loudmouth by that time, because he was known throughout the village as someone who won't just freakin' die. (That particular fact still remained a mystery to the rest of Rookie Nine, but no one bothered to ask Naruto about it).

The main point was that Naruto was strong.

Ino aspired to be as strong, if not stronger.

So, they fought. A lot. Mostly because Ino asked for it. Both nearly killed each other on multiple occasions.

(No actual killing happened because Naruto couldn't be killed and Ino was smart enough to know when to stop before she could be killed in their 'friendly' spars. It was a beautiful relationship. Really.)

Apparently, nearly being killed and trying to kill someone led to unconscious manifestation of feelings between the two blondes. At first, there were just suspicion and distrust, which were gradually replaced by grudging respect and admiration after the first few mock battles. Throw in the fact that Sakura seemed adamant to mope over Sasuke's disappearance rather than getting over it, and Shikamaru's apparent attraction towards the feisty Temari (who kept visiting Konoha for obscure 'official businesses'), Naruto and Ino had enough similarities to warrant one or two invitations to friendly dinners between them.

They soon found out that there _really_ was a reason why underage drinking was prohibited.

(Both blamed Kakashi the Pervert Copy Nin for introducing sake into their otherwise clean dinner arrangements.)

(Kakashi the Pervert Copy Nin stated schizophrenia, obtained from years being in ANBU, as an excuse for his irresponsible action.)

(No one believed him.)

Needless to say, the damage had been done. And Naruto felt somewhat responsible for what he did under the influence of alcohol, and promptly asked Ino's hand for marriage. (Despite the fact that not even an article of clothing was shed that night). He spent two weeks in the hospital for his dramatic feat, especially since it was witnessed by members of Rookie Nine (Hinata fainted) and almost half of Konoha's population. Ino had attempted suicide by excessive consumption of plum candies, and by the end of the day, she was sent to the hospital to pump out the content of her stomach. There never was a more spectacular sight than when they realised that they were in the same ward.

Hell ensued. Again.

(Several insurance companies filed for bankruptcy that very week.)

(Godaime-sama denied them the easy way out.)

Naruto and Ino were locked inside a holding cell in the Torture & Interrogation Department (courtesy of Ibiki) to give them time to work out their problem, and for the hospital to be rebuilt. It was a perilous two-day adventure for the guard (who tearfully filed for rank demotion after that experience), but in the end, everyone was happy. Nasty words were screamed out, accusations of idiocy and alcohol-intolerance were thrown about, (more than) punches were exchanged, but Naruto and Ino pulled through, surprisingly still in one piece. Or technically, two pieces. Whatever. They reached a consensus upon the nature of their relationship, and while it was not downright romantic, they figured that they could try being in each other's company without one trying to kill the other. It hadn't been a year yet, but things were looking good for them.

(Inochi still wept for his daughter's choice of consort.)

And that was how their relationship came to be.

Their similar dislike towards Kiba (for various undisclosed reasons) was just an added bonus.

**xxx**

"Oh, hello, Naruto-kun," Yamanaka-san cordially greeted Naruto, who was standing in front of the doorstep with a huge smile on his face. The middle-aged woman invited him in and closed the door behind him, gesturing the boy towards the kitchen. "Do you want some hot chocolate and toasts? I'm just making breakfast."

Naruto beamed at the woman and nodded. He was used to the fact that the Yamanaka woman loved feeding people. It's a wonder why Ino was so thin, living in a household like that. "Yeah, thanks. Where's Inochi-san?"

"He's on a mission in the Sand," retorted Yamanaka-san, as she placed a mug of steaming dark liquid in front of Naruto. The toaster 'ping'-ed cheerily at the background. Two pieces of slightly-burnt toasts were immediately sent his way and Yamanaka-san joined Naruto at the table, nursing her own mug of hot drink. She stole a glance at the staircase that led to the second floor (and by default, Ino's room), and said, "I don't think Ino will be down anytime soon."

"Why?" The question was slightly muffled, as Naruto had stuffed his face with liquid chocolate-flavoured toast. He chewed rapidly, and swallowed in record time. There was concern in his eyes when he asked, "Is she sick?"

Yamanaka-san laughed at that. "No, not really. She's just… allergic."

Naruto furrowed his brows. This could be serious. He never knew Ino had an allergy that could make her stay in bed, being the high-strung person that she was. He could use that knowledge to his advantage in the future. "To what?"

"Snow."

"Snow?" Naruto parroted, and the incredulous look on his face prompted the woman to laugh again. "Are you for real?"

"As unbelievable as it is, it's true." Yamanaka-san took a sip from her mug and nodded sombrely. "She dislikes snow since she's small. Never go out when it's snowing if she can help it."

"But—"

The sound of something heavy being dragged down the stairs stopped Naruto in mid-rant. Yamanaka-san and he simultaneously turned to stare at the stairs, as the 'bump-draaaaag-bump' continued amidst the anticipatory silence that hung heavily in the air. At first, Naruto thought that he was seeing a mass of blankets and comforter and everything thick stumbling down the stairs, but mentally corrected his first impression when he saw a headful of familiar platinum blonde hair sticking out from the moving blanket/etc monster. He sat in petrified amusement, as Yamanaka-san sighed, stood up and padded towards the 'monster'. She gently said something, and apparently, whatever it was that she said penetrated the gathered thickness. A miracle worker indeed.

Naruto peered over the rim of his mug, watching the exchange in silence.

He didn't want to risk his neck by joining in the conversation.

"But Ino-dear, Naruto-kun is already here," he heard Yamanaka-san mutter patiently to her daughter. "It's not nice to keep him waiting."

Ino answered something, although it didn't seem to be in a language known to Naruto.

Yamanaka-san shook her head. "No. Now, stop being such a baby and do make yourself presentable." She glanced at Naruto and smiled. "Besides, isn't it time to change yourself, now that you've got a _boyfriend_?"

Naruto choked on his toast, and felt blood rushing towards his head, heating his cheeks up. Ino's reaction was a violent body-shake, and she stomped back up the stairs without another word. Yamanaka-san simply nodded approvingly at nothing in particular, and sat down again to join Naruto for breakfast. Idle chats concerning the weather and Konoha's general political status commenced, although Naruto kept turning red for no apparent reason whenever the older woman looked at him. Twenty-or-so minutes later, a fresh set of stomps echoed inside the Yamanaka household and Ino reappeared.

For the second time that morning alone, Naruto choked.

Ino was decked in layers of warm clothing, until she looked twice as big as her normal slim figure would ever allow. Her long hair was tucked into a snow cap, which also covered the better part of her head. There were scarves wound around her neck, and they created a fascinating effect since the colours clashed quite horribly. Gone were her skirt and sexy bandages, and in their places, Ino had pulled on a pair of dark purple pants, and knee-high boots. And she was glaring at Naruto; like it was all his fault that winter had come knocking on Konoha's door.

His survival instinct told him to start running.

Naruto slowly stood up and forced himself to stay still.

He heard that wild beasts would leave him alone if he pretended to be dead.

A few minutes passed in silence, except from agitated rustles from Ino as she tried to shrug on another coat, and failed miserably at that. The young woman huffed loudly and narrowed her eyes at the two other occupants of the room. "Mom, if I die out there, I'm blaming you." Her voice dropped to a sibilant hiss when she glared directly at Naruto. "And _you_ too."

His survival instinct twitched, convulsed and dropped dead.

Naruto pretended to suffer the same fate, minus the convulsing and dropping part.

"Of course, dear." Yamanaka-san was faring extremely well against her daughter's threat, and Naruto envied her for that. It must've been a mother's thing. "Have a nice day, and don't forget to stay warm."

Ino grumbled something unmistakably rude that was thankfully muffled by her scarves and stomped towards the door, almost wrenching the triangle of wood off their hinges when she opened it. Naruto nodded at Yamanaka-san, and stole the last piece of toast before ambling out behind Ino, making sure that he was safely out of her punching range. When he felt sure that Ino was not in the mood for any physical violence (that, and he was quite sure that he could dodge if she tried), Naruto quickened his pace, until he was walking side by side with an unusually-silent Ino. It was a bad way to start a day, and Naruto felt that he should do something to break the (metaphorical) ice.

"So…" he ignored the dark look sent his way by his companion and stared at the stretch of white that covered the road in front of them. "I heard that you're allergic to snow."

Ino grunted in response. Not very promising, but Naruto had enough experience dealing with conversationally-challenged people to not give up after his first try. Just look at his team mate-turned-traitor.

"You never told me about that before."

They had opted to take a route that diverged from the main road in their way to Torture & Interrogation Department's headquarter (Naruto insisted to walk Ino to her training place), where there were less people and more trees to look at. During spring and summer, the route was lined with swaying trees and radiant colours from bushes of flowers; Ino had constantly expressed her love towards the view. But Naruto noticed that autumn annoyed Ino for some reason that she kept to herself, although he reasoned that it was because the trees had started dying and everything had turned into crunchy golden hue.

He never suspected that winter would bring the worst out of Ino.

(Except maybe when she found out that he had read Icha Icha Paradise.)

(Kakashi the Pervert Copy Nin was again blamed for the misconduct of his student.)

Ino suddenly stopped, and stared at Naruto underneath the snow cap that covered her forehead. Her eyes were red, and he noticed that she was shaking, despite the abundance of clothes sticking to her. "Shut it, Naruto."

"Hey, Ino…" he moved into her personal space (something that he knew she hated), and returned her stare, only with less vehemence and more concern. "Tell me what's wrong."

"Nothing." She shrugged, and took a step back. Her expression was guarded, like he had just asked her to tell him a forbidden secret. It was intriguing. "Just… shut up, okay?"

Naruto fell silent, staring at his companion with an unreadable look on his face. It always exasperated him when Ino was trying to hide something. It made him want to know more, because there were too few things that he knew about the young Yamanaka. "Tell me what's bothering you, and I'll shut up."

"No."

Stubborn as always. Well, two could play the game, and Naruto would not be the one giving up.

They stood amidst the falling snow and whistling wind, eyes locked in a silent game of obstinacy that neither seemed willing to lose.

Surprisingly, Ino looked away first.

"Cold."

Naruto blinked. "Wha—"

"Winter's cold." She gestured at the snow-covered barren trees behind them. "And dead."

"Ino…"

"I don't like it."

Silence stretched between them once again, and Naruto couldn't look away from the thin layer of snow that had already gathered over Ino's shoulder, due to their lack of movement. He took a step forward, extended his hand and brushed the snow from her shoulder. There was more to her admission than a naked eye could see, but he decided that he had done enough prying for the day. Ino would tell her more when she wanted too.

"We're late," he said, covering the brief moment of awkwardness that had enveloped them.

She stole a last glance at the trees, and nodded slowly. "Ah."

"Ino?"

"Stay with me," he looked straight ahead, eyes as hard as his determination. "And I'll keep you warm."

He missed the small smile that graced her lips as they resumed their halted journey, Ino's gloved fingers tightly intertwined with Naruto's.

**END**


End file.
